


broken lanterns

by gayalucard



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Bad Jokes, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Foreshadowing, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Magic, Mind Manipulation, Mindfuck, Pre-Canon, Royalty, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Speculation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-09-22 11:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17059124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayalucard/pseuds/gayalucard
Summary: Going all the way back to when Seam and Jevil were just two kids that were lucky enough to get into the royal court, their whole story will be told. How they got the jobs, how they fell in love, how it all fell apart, and the aftermath.More tags to be added as I work on it. Possibly the start of a series of Seavil/Jeam related works I'll make. Or maybe even a part of a general Deltarune series.





	1. The Beginning

 

_Their lives had always been different from the rest. Two playful, childish souls, each relying on the other for company, for they had no one else. Everyone had always laughed and cheered at their performances (aside from a few certain times), but to the audience, the two were just entertainers and members of the royal court, nothing more. When one half of a pair is broken, it becomes unusable, and soon, the other is discarded too, forgotten by the world._

  
  


“Seam, Seam! It's almost time for us to go on!”, a cheerful voice called excitedly, just barely quiet enough to avoid echoing throughout the little theater.

Another voice, a nervous one, replied.

“Already..? I-I'm not sure if I'm prepared yet….”

The figure with the cheerful voice stepped out of the shadows of the stage curtains. He was small, with gray skin and pointy ears, and was clothed in a silly-looking jester outfit, though Seam thought it looked cute on him.

“C'mon, you're gonna do great! I'm so excited! We worked so hard on this!”

The nervous voice, Seam, belonged to a purple, plush cat-like monster with orange button eyes, wearing an orange wizard hat and robes, wielding a wooden staff.

“Yes, but… what if I mess up? The Kings surely would take offense to our act if something bad were to happen….”

“So what if we mess up? It'd be fun if it went against even _our_ expectations as well as the Kings’! Besides, we can just pretend it's all part of our performance!”

“Optimistic as usual, Jevil…. so wha-”

Before Seam could ask his question, the curtains began to rise, and the announcer, a young blue-skinned man, ushered them on.

“O great and excellent majesties, and thine otherst ladies and gentlemen, prepareth thouselves for another excitinge performance! The two who shallst beith auditioning this time art two young newcomers, by the names of Jevil and… er…. Seem?”

His grandeur and “fancy” speech faltered for a bit, unsure of the pronounciation of Seam's name. Of course, like everyone else except for Jevil, he got it wrong.

Seam was offended, but knew it wasn't worth it to correct him right now.

“The show shall now begineth, enjoy thyselves!”

 

_“And that's our cue!”_

Jevil grabbed Seam by the hand and led him on stage. It was always surprising how fast the little guy could go when he was excited, scared, or nervous. This time, Seam could tell that, despite how Jevil was acting, there was a bit of nervousness mixed in with the excitement.

_“Uh, Seam… the microphone is too high up!”_

Ah, there it is, the first mistake. Of many.

 

Seam, struggling to hold in a groan of annoyance, lifted up his small friend to the microphone.

Still being held in the air, Jevil addressed the audience with surprising confidence.

“Heehee, hello everyone! My name is Jevil, and this is my friend Seam! Sorry about the, uh, technical difficulties! I guess you could say our performance is a bit…. short-handed!”

That got a couple of laughs from the audience, somehow. Seam was smiling now too, when that dumb, toothy grin looked back at him.

“Anyways, now for our performance! We've got a few tricks up our sleeve!”

Setting Jevil down, Seam got his staff ready and adjusted his hat.

The audience went silent.

Jevil stood in the center, focusing his magical powers, and summoned shapes from every card suit.

  


_Three..._

  


_Two..._

  


The countdown to one never happened. The nervousness Jevil had been keeping in finally showed itself, and suddenly, there was an explosion of clubs and spades and hearts and diamonds, all unable to be controlled. Bouncing everywhere, it sent everyone in the audience into a panic. A spade almost hit the King of Clubs in one of his faces, just barely missing. Multiple audience members were being chased by diamonds. The announcer was screaming in the corner like a little girl.

It was chaos.

 

Seam just _knew_ something like this would happen, so he had already prepared his spells.

With the grace of a master magician, he swiftly speared the dangerous projectiles out of the air with magical strings. They were engulfed in an orange flame-like light, and seemed to burn into ashes. Within about three minutes, the theater had not only been cleared of danger, but of an audience as well. The only three that remained were an exhausted and frustrated Seam, Jevil, who had collapsed unconscious on the stage, and the announcer, still cowering in the corner.

 

Dropping his staff, Seam rushed over to Jevil. “Jevil, are you okay?! Wake up! Before they come back!” He picked him up and shook him like a child would a doll.

Tongue still hanging out of his mouth, Jevil lifted his head up and looked around.

“Oh no, not again!”

Seam managed to laugh a little, despite his intense anxiety. “Yep, we messed up big this time…. Now, we've gotta get out of here. There's no telling what they'll do to us for endangering the kings. We could end up in jail, or worse!”

 

Suddenly no longer afraid, his panic replaced with anger, the strange announcer walked over to them, hands balled into fists at his sides. “STOP RIGHT THEREST! Neither of you… delinquents shall be goingst anywhere until you tasteth justice!” Wow, he was really mad for somebody who was hiding in a corner and never got hurt the entire time.

Jevil, never knowing the right and wrong time to say such things, felt the need to make a joke. “Ooh, I bet justice tastes great! I've never had it before! I-”

The announcer, having been fed up with him already, completely lost his patience.

“SILENCE, WORM! YOUR ACTIONS ENDANGERED THEIR ROYAL MAJESTIES AND THUS YOU DESERVE _PUNISHMENT_!”

 

Jevil sunk back into Seam's robe, realizing he made a mistake. He was still smiling, though. Seam held up a paw, still quivering, but he tried to make himself sound at least somewhat competent.

“Hey, wait… um, can't we at least try asking the kings for forgiveness? I mean, we are very young and inexperienced, so we could never have guaranteed something like that wouldn't happen. And besides, the kings knew the risks of magic-related injuries and destruction when they decided to hold auditions for court magician and jester. ...What is your name anyhow?”

 

The announcer paused for a moment, hand on chin, processing what Seam had just said.

“Hmm…. perhapst. But be aware, that doth not mean _I_ must be kind to you. And my name…”

He paused yet again, pondering whether or not he should even tell the two.

“My name is Rouxls Kaard.”

 

Seam extended a paw out as an invitation for a handshake, and surprisingly, Rouxls accepted.

“My name's Seam, and yeah, it's pronounced 'Shawm’. You… said it wrong, earlier….”

 

“Heehee, he doesn't like it when people say his name wrong!”

 

“Jevil, now's not the time.”

 

“Aww….”

 


	2. Judgement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jevil and Seam are taken to face the kings, at the mercy of their judgement. A decision is made. Whether it is ultimately a good or bad decision lies in the hands of fate.

 

They were being escorted by Rouxls, led through the dark and majestic halls and staircases of Card Castle. Jevil, being so short, was having a hard time keeping up. So he decided to ride on top of Seam's head, with his legs resting on his shoulders. He wore the wizard hat on his own head above his jester hat, although it was too big and obscured his vision unless he held it up. Altogether, they looked quite silly. But this was a very serious matter.

Rouxls had a stern face, his short white hair curling at wilding angles at the ends. He seemed to know exactly where to go, showing no hesitation or confusion. Seam was curious, he didn't remember ever seeing or hearing of him before, but if he knew the layout of the castle this well, he must work here. So, he gave into his curiosity and asked.

“Um, Mr. Kaard? Do you work here?”

Rouxls looked astonished, as if someone had just insulted his entire family.

“Don't be an imbecile, worm! Of course I worketh herest!”

Seam flinched, not expecting such an emotional reaction. All he did was ask if this was where he worked…. If it took that little too upset him, Seam decided against asking any further. Jevil, however, being ever so curious, just had to question him further.

“Heehee, what exactly is your job, Mr. Fancypa-”

Seam slammed his hat down on Jevil's head before he could finish the insult. It didn't help much, as Rouxls still glared daggers at them.

“If thou petty worms  _ must _ know, I….” His voice dropped off, and suddenly he looked embarrassed.

“I… I am thine Royal Janitor…..”

From under the hat, Jevil burst out laughing, causing Seam to pull the hat down on his head even further. So that's why knew the place so well….

“But do not getteth thine wrong idea, worms! I have higher rank than both of you! Besidesteth, this job is only temporary, one day I shall becometh something grand!”

Jevil managed to poke his face out enough to ask one more question.

“And what would that be?”

“Er…. I…. I doth not know…. But either wayst, it be none of  _ your _ businesses, worms!

And thus ended the conversation. A few more moments of walking, and they had made it to the door of the throne room. A pair of Rudinn Rangers were guarding it, so Rouxls stopped to talk with them.

Jevil jumped to the ground, still wearing Seam's hat. It was funny, it nearly covered his whole head, even with his own hat on. Seam bent down and picked it up. Jevil was about half his height, but he was used to it, so his back didn't hurt much. Adjusting his hat and stretching, Seam tried his best to cover up his anxiety, but it was obvious that his fur was standing on end. Even Jevil looked visibly nervous, his tail twitching, and bouncing lightly on his feet. Seam reached down again to put a paw on his head, comforting him. Jevil scooted closer and leaned into him. That performance could've been their last.

 

One of the guards had entered the throne room, and just came back out. Rouxls was tapping his foot impatiently, and jumped up when the guard opened the door. He put his hands together, pleading politely. He was clearly tired of dealing with the two friends.

“So, mayst we see their Majesties now?”

“Yeah, go ahead and go on in.”

The guards opened the imposing doors, leading into a large chamber, decorated with tapestries of each king's symbol and unnecessary piles of riches. It was intimidating, but beautiful at the same time. The four kings each sat in their respective thrones, one near each corner, matched with their tapestries. They all stared at the two troublemakers with judging eyes. The King of Clubs looked especially mad, since he was the one who was nearly hit in the face. Or rather, one of his faces. Jevil wondered if each face had a mind of its own, or if they were all the same person. But, thankfully, he didn't ask this time.

 

Once they reached the center of the chamber, Rouxls was ordered to step to the side, and four guards surrounded them so they couldn't escape if they were stupid enough to even try. They both knelt down out of respect, fearing whatever was going to happen next.

The first king to speak up was the King of Hearts, thankfully. He was known as the kindest of the four.

“Now, you two young men, what you have done is a crime, putting our lives in danger like that. But surely you have your excuses for this unfortunate event, do you not?”

Seam struggled, but managed to force himself to speak. “Yes your majesty, you see, we are young and inexperienced, so we have not quite mastered our abilities yet. Especially under pressure and anxiety, it becomes very hard to control. I am more adept at magic than my companion here, Jevil, so he is more susceptible to losing control.”

The kings had varied reactions, and passed messages to the others through their guards. The King of Spades seemed deep in thought, then, suddenly raised his voice so all could hear him.

“My partners in monarchy, I believe we can all agree that, despite what may have happened, it certainly was the most spectacular audition we had today. I say we give them a chance.”

The King of Diamonds tilted his head. “What do you mean, Spade?”

“I'm saying, perhaps we should consider them for our royal court. After all, that  _ is _ what the audition was for.”

The King of Clubs, all of his heads practically burning with anger, was disgusted with this idea.

“Really Spade? You want  _ these _ miscreants to work  _ here _ with  _ us _ ?”

Rouxls was disgusted too, and dared to join the conversation, despite being a simple janitor.

“My deepest apologies your majesty, thine King of Spades, but thou must see these two are dangerous, dost thou not?”

Spade put a hand up, and attempted to explain himself.

“Yes, I am aware they are dangerous. But, for one thing, it's always better to have the dangerous ones on your side rather than make them your enemies, and for another, if we give them the resources and space to train and harness their magic, they can become even more powerful. And  _ that _ is why I want to give them a chance.”

 

The Kings of Hearts and Diamonds were pondering this, and the King of Clubs groaned and admitted defeat.

“Alright, alright. I see where you're coming from. I… did let anger cloud my judgement. But! Should we choose them, if they fling anything magical near any of my faces even  _ once _ more, they will be thrown into the dungeon for the rest of their lives.”

Spades looked to the other two. “Hearts, Diamonds, are you two okay with this as well?”

Both nodded.

“Alright, so it's decided. You two, we will give you a chance. The announcing of the Royal Magician and the Royal Jester is tomorrow. Until then, you two will be locked in the dungeon for safety.”

 

Both of them grinning like madmen, Seam thanked the kings.

“Oh, thank you so much your majesties! Thank you for this chance! You will not regret it!”

Jevil was less… tactful about showing his gratitude.

“We'll be sure to not hit any of you in the face ever!”

Surprisingly, the King of Spades let out a chuckle. “Good. Now, off to the dungeon, I'm afraid. It's getting quite late. My apologies that we are unable to provide adequate bedding, but it's only for one night.”

Two guards escorted them out of the throne room, passing by a shocked Rouxls on the way. Down many, many flights of stairs and long hallways yet again, they reached the elevator.

One of the guards sighed, and pressed the button leading to the dungeons.

“You two might wanna get comfortable, it'll be a long ride down.”

And so they sat. But soon enough, Jevil got up to look at the elevator buttons. He noticed one below the dungeon floor's button, completely unmarked.

“Eh? What floor does this button go to, and why is it unmarked?”

Seam really wished his friend had more self control. They say curiosity kills the cat, and Jevil's curiosity would definitely kill Seam someday, he was sure of it.

The guard hesitated to answer, but decided it wasn't going to hurt anything.

“That's for uh…. emergencies. It's a special dungeon.”

Jevil was still mildly confused, but didn’t ask any further.

 

The elevator had finally reached the dungeon, and they were led out, into yet another hallway. A bit of walking, one left turn, and they were at a small, moss-covered cell. The guard in lead turned around to face them.

“Alright, this'll be your room for the night. Sorry…. We, uh, have a blanket and pillow you could borrow. Just one of each though.”

 

“Thank you, I'm sure we can make do with that.”

Though Seam was polite, he was still feeling very uneasy about it all. The guards led them in there, left for a few minutes, and came back with the pillow and blanket. The blanket was black and covered in a red heart pattern, and the pillow was blue and shaped like a spade. Both felt so soft, softer than anything either of them had ever slept with.

When the guards shut the door and walked off, the two started looking for the best spot to sleep.

“Seam, how about the mossy area in the corner? Moss is kinda like carpet!”

“You know I don't like getting my fur wet, and besides, a corner would be too cramped for the both of us.”

“Aww…. hey, I wonder what moss tastes like….”

“Hey, don't eat that!”

 

Eventually, after a few minutes of discussing where to sleep and playfully arguing about moss, they decided on the wall to the left of the door.

Seam set the pillow on the ground, and curled up on top of it. Jevil put the blanket on Seam and squeezed himself in between the cat monster's arms.

Seam looked surprised, but not unhappy.

“I thought you were going to keep the blanket for yourself….”

“Nah, you should have it, since you've put up with me all day! Besides, it's warmer curled up next to you anyways!”

Seam smiled. What a long and scary day this had been….. But he was happy as long as he had Jevil by his side. Together, they were ready to face whatever comes next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already had this one written, and I'm kinda impatient, so I went ahead and put it up the day right after the first! I really appreciate the positive feedback I'm getting, that always makes me feel happier than anything! It's one of my main goals in life, to be able to create things or do things other people will enjoy or be entertained by! Now, this week is finals, though, so it might be a little bit before the next chapter, but I'll try my best! Heck, I might even start writing it today!


	3. Moment of Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some unnecessary delays, a choice is finally made. Will it be the right one in the end?

>  

 

There was no way to truly tell the time in the dungeon, what with there being no windows. But Seam assumed it must've been about midday, maybe a bit earlier. A single Rudinn guard came in to wake them.

“Alright, it's time to get up! The announcing of the winners starts in two hours!”

Seam, still curled up on the pillow, gently nudged Jevil's face with a soft paw until it was lazily swatted away.

“Nnghhh…. I'm awake, I'm awake…. Do we really gotta get up _already_?”

Seam got up, letting Jevil slump over on the pillow, and smiled apologetically at the guard. “He always takes a bit to wake up.”

“I understand sir, but I was told to make sure neither of you were late. The kings said if you were, you'd be disqualified immediately.”

Jevil jumped right into action upon hearing this.

“OH NO I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN I CAN SLEEP LATER THIS IS IMPORTANT!”

The guard recoiled at his sudden yelling. Seam put his paws on his friend's head, trying to calm him.

“Heheh, sorry, he also... screams when under a lot of stress…”

The guard rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide a smirk at how ridiculous Jevil was.

“Okay, now that's over with, are you two ready? Also, just leave the bedding here, we'll deal with it later.”

Seam picked his hat up off the ground and dusted it off. Jevil had slept in his, not wanting his horns to accidentally poke Seam in his sleep. They both looked around for anything else they needed to do, but there was nothing.

Letting out an anxious sigh, Seam put on his hat and braced himself for possible disappointment. Although, calling the failure they could face now a “disappointment” would be an extreme understatement. They _needed_ to win. Or else they would lose everything.

“Alright, let's go.”

 

Once again in the theater where the auditions were held and the incident happened, Jevil and Seam, and all of the other contestants, were lined up on stage. Rouxls, too, was once again standing in front of the microphone, but this time, holding an envelope. Jevil wondered why they'd let the royal _janitor,_ of all people, do what seemed like a pretty important job. But, like yesterday, there was no time to think too much about anything, and the audience grew quiet as Rouxls began to speak.

“Greetings, Majesties and thine other citizens of the Darke, today we shallst beith deciding whomst will be appointedeth thine titles of “Court Magician” and “Court Jester”. Nowst, I know thou mayst be thinking, 'but whatst abouteth yesterday?’. Well, thine most wonderful and forgiving rulers, our kings, hath decided to show mercy on thine troublemakers from yesterday.” This caused a bit of an uproar from the audience. “Er, please keepeth all complaints to thouself until after thee announcement! I'm… sure thou won't'st even need a reason to complain after thine winners art revealed.”

 

The kings were getting impatient with Rouxls’ speech, and motioned for him to get on with it already. Rouxls suddenly looked absolutely flustered, and Seam couldn't tell for sure through the tiny separation in the stage curtains, but he looked as though he was melting….

“Ahem! I- I apologize for making thoust wait in anticipationne, raise thine curtains and reveal thine candidates!”

He looked behind him as he issued the command, and a Hathy waiting backstage with the candidates pulled a lever, raising the heavy black curtains. Jevil flinched when the light hit his eyes, but he finally got a chance to look around. There were quite a few other candidates, but Jevil and Seam were the only pair. Even if one of them won, it'd take an even bigger miracle for the two to be chosen alongside each other….

 

After brief introductions to each of the candidates, the moment had finally arrived. It had felt like they were on the stage for ages, every darkner's heart beating a mile a minute. Rouxls pulled their fate out of the envelope, and turned it over.

 

“And thine winners be…. Je-EXCUSE ME!”

Rouxls shoved his unoccupied hand over his mouth, realizing he had voiced his disapproval aloud. He looked with frightful eyes at the kings, trembling.

“Y-your majesties…. surely there is s-some kind of….. mistake? Are you sure you want _those two_ in the royal court?”

Apparently he couldn't keep his stupid manner of speaking through such fear and embarrassment.

Jevil and Seam were both petrified and amazed. Surely it wasn't _really_ both of them being picked, right? But Jevil was sure he heard the beginning of his name before Rouxls freaked out. And he didn't seem to have any problems with the other candidates, at least not enough to warrant such a dramatic reaction. _And_ he also mentioned 'those two’. Yes, Jevil was sure that they were the ones chosen now. But… why?

 

The four Kings were grimacing, and the King of Hearts was surprised that someone so lowly as Rouxls would even dare to question them. The King of Spades was the one who broke the tense silence.

“Rouxls…. Do _not_ question our judgement. Read the paper.”

 

“Of c-c-course, y-your majesty….”

He cleared his throat, attempting to regain some semblance of confidence.

“The two darkners talented and uh, _charming_ enough to be appointed Royal Court Jester and Royal Court Magician, respectively, are….”

 

He hung his head down in defeat, his voice cracking.

 

“Jevil... and Seam…”

 

The two could hardly believe it, the miracle they needed had really happened! They were chosen! Neither of them knew why, but that didn't matter to them right now. Jevil could hardly keep from bouncing all around the stage, and Seam was grinning bigger than he ever had before.

 

However, the audience, aside from the Kings, seemed to be very worried. They didn't want a repeat of the earlier event, they didn't want to get hurt or even killed by reckless magic.

But they wouldn't be hurt by any accidents ever again. This was a chance for the duo to harness their magic, and improve it even further. This was a chance for them to have a new life, a life of tricks, shows, jokes, and spells! A life of fun, fun!

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so sorry this took so long!!!!! Can you believe I got the flu not once, but twice! Twice, between this and the last chapter! I'm just now getting over it, and that plus a kinda really bad mental state worsened by the horrible family I live with, and going through senior year in high school made for very little writing time where I actually felt like writing and was inspired. I still feel like this one might've ended a little bit abruptly, but I wasn't sure what else I could add on without going into lots more dialogue and stuff, and then it would've been too long.... But either way, I really hope you enjoyed this and I hope I can maybe start working a little bit faster (though I can make no guarantees ;w;)! I'd like to maybe get it finished before the rest of the game comes out, hehe. Thank you so much for being patient with me!!
> 
> (also rouxls is kinda challenging to write dialogue for bc of his silly olde englishe but I love that fancy blue man)

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy, it's been a while. But I think I'll actually finish this. No matter how long it takes me. I have strong feelings about this ship and I love it, I'm really excited to write this. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'd really appreciate it if you left a comment or anything really, and let me know what you liked about it, how I could improve, etc.  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
